Another reason to move back to Canada:
The [US] federal government must allow meatpackers to test their animals for mad cow disease, a federal judge ruled Thursday.
Yes. You read that correctly. The US Department of Agriculture was trying to prevent meatpackers from testing the animals they slaughter for human consumption.
Creekstone Farms Premium Beef, a meatpacker based in Arkansas City, Kan., wants to test all of its cows for the disease, which can be fatal to humans who eat tainted beef. Larger meat companies feared that move because if Creekstone tested its meat and advertised it as safe, they could be forced to do the expensive test, too.
The Agriculture Department currently regulates the test and administers it to less than 1 percent of slaughtered cows. The department threatened Creekstone with prosecution if it tested all its animals.
How are you doing so far? Slap yourself in the face, this is not a bad dream and it's not a hoax.
Last July, the department cut its testing by about 90 percent. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said testing should reflect "a very, very low level" of the disease in the United States.
That would be about the same time the USDA felt the effects of a $2 billion budget cut.
Of course, a Canadian found this linky. Alberta beef, here I come.
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